Preview: New Zealand vs Chile - prediction, team news, lineups

Host nation New Zealand must claim victory at Eden Park on Monday to salvage their 2026 FIFA Series campaign as they take on Chile in their final outing of the friendly tournament.

The All Whites prop up their ‘pre-arranged’ group after suffering a 2–0 defeat to Finland in their opening fixture, whereas a 4–2 triumph over Cape Verde leaves La Roja top of the bracket heading into this encounter.

Match preview

The 2026 FIFA cross-continental friendly tournament features nine brackets, with a winner declared in each after two rounds of matches, although every section is played under one of two formats: the pre-arranged fixtures system or the final-four setup.

While the latter follows a knockout structure consisting of semi-finals and a final, the former adopts a mini-league format, where the team with the highest points tally from two games is crowned champion of the series.

Operating under the pre-arranged fixtures model, the New Zealand bracket sees the hosts rooted to the bottom after goals from Joel Pohjanpalo and Jaakko Oksanen handed Finland victory, leaving Darren Bazeley’s side in need of a win over Chile to keep their hopes of topping the group alive.

However, that task appears a tall order for the All Whites, who are now winless in eight matches (D1, L7), drawing blanks in four of those outings while conceding at least twice in each of their last three.

That downturn marks a stark contrast to an earlier run, where New Zealand strung together seven straight victories between October 11, 2024 and June 8, 2025, scoring at least three goals in six of those games and keeping six clean sheets — a streak that secured their ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Drawn alongside Belgium, Egypt and Iran — whose participation remains uncertain — in Group G at the mundial, Monday’s encounter also serves as valuable preparation towards the global tournament for the side placed 86th in the FIFA World Rankings.

Meanwhile, Chile sit 52nd in the global rankings and failed to qualify for the World Cup after finishing bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifiers table, ending the campaign nine points adrift of the inter-confederation playoff berth.

La Roja ended the preliminaries without victory in six matches (D2, L4), drawing blanks throughout that run, but fortunes appear to be improving under Nicolas Cordova, who has overseen wins in each of their last four outings.

There has also been a huge improvement in the final third, with Chile scoring at least twice in all four of those games, including Friday’s success over 10-man Cape Verde, where second-half strikes from Maximiliano Gutierrez, Felipe Loyola and Gonzalo Tapia sealed a comeback triumph.

Top of the New Zealand series courtesy of their superior attacking return over Finland, another victory on Monday would strengthen La Roja’s chances of finishing as group winners, and the South American side will draw confidence from winning three of the previous four of this fixture (W3, D1).

New Zealand International Friendlies form:

Chile International Friendlies form:

Chile form (all competitions):

Team News

New Zealand could be without defender Francis De Vries, who was forced off through injury in the previous outing against Finland.

Should De Vries fail to recover in time, James McGarry — his replacement in that encounter — is poised to continue at left-back.

Meanwhile, Jesse Randall caught the eye with a lively second-half cameo, and the 23-year-old attacker could be rewarded with a starting berth in the final third.

Chile, meanwhile, emerged from their clash with Cape Verde without any apparent injury concerns, meaning a similar lineup could be deployed, although the head coach may again rotate to distribute minutes across the squad.

Derby County forward Ben Brereton Diaz is expected to spearhead the attack after getting on the scoresheet last time out, while Gutierrez — who registered a goal and an assist — should retain his place on the right flank.

Loyola and Tapia are pushing for starts after their goals off the bench, whereas Benjamin Chandia could be handed another opportunity from the outset following an assist on his senior debut.

New Zealand possible starting lineup:

Crocombe; Payne, Surman, Bindon, McGarry; Stamenic, Thomas; Old, Just, Randall; Waine

Chile possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Garguez, Roman, Kuscevic, Suazo; Pizarro, Echeverria; Gutierrez, Cepeda, Millan; Brereton

We say: New Zealand 1-2 Chile

This contest pits two sides heading in contrasting directions, with Chile holding the momentum and appearing well placed to edge the result, even though New Zealand will be eager to rise to the occasion on home soil.

La Roja have not been particularly watertight despite their recent upturn in form, so the Oceania hosts could still find a breakthrough, but the visitors’ superior attacking rhythm should prove decisive.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.